


Day Two Hundred Twenty-Two || Out of Date

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [222]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 02:08:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20201992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: It's not every day a demon from a bygone era tells you he loved you in a past life.





	Day Two Hundred Twenty-Two || Out of Date

No one ever said seeing spirits is always a good thing. All her life, Hinata’s pale eyes have given her glimpses into the unseen, the unknown: the plane beyond the mortal. At times, she sees beautiful spirits, little gods that still flit between the spaces humans no longer see.

...others...she sees the more malevolent creatures. Yōkai, monsters that would as soon eat a human as look at them.

While many of her homeland have abandoned the old ways - let them fade from fact to fiction - Hinata, like her mother before her knows the truth.

The gods are not dead. Simply...fewer. More scattered as humans overrun their world. And though Hinata sometimes loves her peeks behind the curtain...they aren’t always pleasant.

One such example came while on a school trip when she was still in high school. They were off to visit Kyoto, her entire class ushered to the beautiful city to tour the old landmarks and shrines. For Hinata, it was like stepping back in time. So many old buildings, statues, temples...and though she was the only one to see them, kami!

...and yōkai.

She and a group of students were wandering the Imperial Palace grounds, gawking and taking picture after picture. Hinata, of course, was sparing many a glance to the various spirits around them, trying not to be too open and reveal her ability to see them.

But one happened to notice.

She couldn’t help it. Doing a double take, she stared as a man strode with clear purpose across the palace grounds. First his outfit caught her eye: exceedingly out of date, he looked like someone straight out of an old feudal era movie: complete with hakama, haori, and zori. But once that surprise faded, Hinata realized he had ears...and not just any ears. _Cat_ ears. And out from under his hems...were _two tails_.

This wasn’t just any feline spirit. This was a nekomata. A dangerous yōkai that loved to make mockeries of humans...and at times, even eat them. To see one so boldly out in broad daylight (well...at least to her eyes) was a shock to say the least.

But then he happened to glance her way.

...and he froze. Eyes went wide, ears perked and tails bushing in instinct.

For a moment, she was convinced she was going to die.

They stared at one another, no one else aware as the other students kept walking and talking, leaving Hinata behind.

And then, slowly...his expression began to shatter. His ears drooped and hung back, eyes searching her face with clear hues of loss...and longing.

Did...did he recognize her…? But she was more than certain she’d never seen him before. A nekomata, surely, she would have known in a heartbeat.

“...Hinata…?”

He knew her name.

Tearing her eyes away from him, she looked to her group. He did the same. “I-I...I’m sorry, but...do I…? Do I know you?”

That, apparently...was his undoing. And in a flicker...he vanished.

“Ne, Hinata-chan!”

“Let’s go, you’re falling behind!”

Blinking at the words of her classmates, she’d staggered, and then followed.

...how strange.

The sight bothered her for the rest of the day, but for the remainder of their trip, she never again saw the strange nekomata. By the time she made her way home, she’d begun to forget. Thoughts of him were left behind in Kyoto.

...but _he_ was not.

Safely back at home, she’d collapsed atop her bed that night, sighing in exhaustion and simply taking in the comfort and familiarity of home. Over her bed spilled moonlight from her parted curtains. She really should get up...and…

Before she could finish the thought...the light faded. A...a cloud, perhaps.

...no such luck.

Opening her eyes, she gasped as a silhouette crouched in her window. It...it was the man! From the palace grounds! Scrambling to put distance between them, Hinata planted her back against the far wall. “W...who are you?” she demanded in a harsh whisper, not wanting to alert her family. “What do you want?”

Tails slowly swaying, he just...watched her. “...so...you don’t remember me.”

“S...should I…? I’ve never seen you before.”

“It was...many years ago. A lifetime, one could say. I should have known your memories would not follow from one to the next…”

“I...I really don’t know w-what you’re talking about.”

A solemn sigh escaped him. “...I am Uchiha Sasuke. As you can see, miko...I am a yōkai. A monster. Specifically...a cursed cat. Nekomata.”

“Are...are you going to eat me?”

That earned a snort. “...no. I have no intention to eat you. Or harm you. When we met, you offended me with your staring. Funny, then...that this time, I was never so eager to meet your eyes.”

“...so...you’re saying we...we _have_ met.”

“In another life. You humans are so short-lived...I knew this, and hoped you would be special. That your blood would grant you favor. I think, in a way, it did...but not against all evils.”

She considered that. Does he really mean they met in a previous iteration of...herself? He does indeed dress like a bygone era. He had to have been of some great age...even more so when one considered the years required to become a nekomata. “...you wanted me...to live?”

“...I did. Because I chose you as my bride.”

Hinata balked. “B...bride?”

“You were the daughter of a nobleman. Unhappy with the visions the gods had given you, eyes like your mother’s...true miko eyes. Those that see beyond the mortal, into the plane of kami and yōkai. Many years ago, such a blessing would be considered a boon. But now, and even then...you saw it as a curse. Something that marked you as different, that earned you scorn when revealed. Correct…?”

Still a bit hung up on the term ‘bride’, Hinata then digested his other words. So...he already knew about her eyes. His surprise, then, wasn’t that she could see him...but rather that she was a reborn version of someone he had loved…? “I was...I was truly your bride?” _I married a yōkai…?_

“You did not fully belong to the world of men. They refuted your gift, called you cursed. I promised to take you from that world...and I did. And we were happy.”

“...then what happened?”

“...I do not wish to recount it.”

She flinched. “S...sorry.”

“Perhaps...another night. Far from now. You...are the Hinata I knew, grown in a world I no longer recognize. Your memories of me are gone...and yet...I wonder if, in time, you will regrow them. If you would...indulge me again.”

“I-I mean...I’m just a high school student! I’m not really planning to get married r-right away! Maybe that was normal then, but...not now.”

Sasuke studied her for a time. “...then I will be patient, as you taught me how. You must grow...as your love did for me once. No matter the years, I will wait. And I will earn that love again. This time...I _will not lose you_.”

In spite of herself, Hinata felt a heat rise in her face. No one had ever...shown such an interest in her. True, this was..._highly_ unorthodox. And yet...if he was right...she’d fallen in love with him before. Was such a thing truly possible…? A human and a yōkai…?

“...for now, I will leave you. I can see my presence unnerves you.”

“But -?”

“But...I will not stray far. I will protect you. This world is just as dangerous as it was in the past, Hinata...perhaps even more so. I shall be your shadow...and keep you safe from the darkened corners. You need only look...and I will be there. Until you are ready.”

Before she could protest, he vanished.

Utterly at a loss, she stared at the then-empty windowsill. So...a nekomata she’d loved and married in a past life had found her again...and wanted to be with her in this life, as well…? This was all so very confusing. Maybe...maybe she was dreaming.

Unsure, she closed and locked her window, drawing in the curtains before crawling into bed. She felt unable to sleep, too consumed by all he’d told her. But once her mind quieted, lulled by the quiet and the stillness, she finally found rest.

She could see what the fates had in store for her come morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Tired OTL
> 
> So this is a far-flung continuation of days 148 and 156, where Sasuke is a nekomata determined to get a miko into his clutches! But this is a what-if of if she died and was later reincarnated into a modern life. Hence Sasuke being out of date, lol
> 
> I wanna do more, but my eyes are screaming and I'm v tired, so we'll leave it there xD Thanks for reading!


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